Sheila S. Boston Nominated to be New York City Bar Association President; Nominees for Leadership Positions Announced
Sheila S. Boston has been nominated as President of the New York City Bar Association. If elected, Boston will succeed Roger Juan Maldonado as the Association’s 69th President. The election will take place at the City Bar’s annual meeting on May 19, 2020. The City Bar also announced its Nominating Committee’s slate of officers and new members of its Executive Committee.
Boston, a partner at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, is a trial lawyer and litigation strategist who defends clients from initiation of the case through trial and/or settlement. She has extensive experience in both state and federal courts, including multidistrict litigation in mass tort actions and “battle of the experts” litigation. She has served as national coordinating counsel of experts, involving the retention, development and preparation of experts for depositions, Daubert/Frye hearings and trials.
At the City Bar, Boston has been a frequent speaker and served on multiple committees, including the Executive Committee as Vice President and as Secretary of the Association; as Chair of the Diversity Equity, and Inclusion Committee and of the Recruitment and Retention of Lawyers Committee; and as a member of the Nominating Committee.
Boston has been recognized with several awards for her passionate advocacy for diversity and inclusion in the workplace, including the Chambers Diversity Awards USA 2016 inaugural award for her “Outstanding Contribution to Furthering the Advancement of Diversity in the Legal Profession, Private Practice.”
An active member of the legal community, Boston was appointed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve two three-year terms on New York’s First Department Judicial Screening Committee, and by Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to serve on the Circuit’s Attorney Grievance Committee.
Boston’s pro bono work is multifaceted and even includes serving as co-trial counsel in a still-pending post-conviction death penalty proceeding – Stinski v. State of Georgia – tried before a judge inside a maximum security Georgia state prison.
Boston received her JD from Columbia Law School, and is admitted in New York; the Supreme Court of the United States; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; the U.S District Court, Southern District of New York; and the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York.
“I am humbled, honored, blessed and thrilled with the nomination to serve as President of such an august and prestigious body of legal professionals,” said Boston. “I joined the City Bar when I was a junior associate at Kaye Scholer (now Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer), and as my first professional bar association home, it holds a very special place in my heart. I have maintained an active membership there because of its rich legacy of educating, supporting and strengthening its membership; serving as an important resource and voice for the people of our great city; championing the historically disadvantaged and those in need; and defending the rule of law. My life mantra has always been ‘to whom much is given, much is required,’ and it is with that spirit that I accept the nomination and look forward to continuing that legacy and taking the organization to even greater heights of service to the profession and beyond.”
David Arroyo, BuzzFeed Inc.; Joseph Drayton, Cooley LLP; and Susan J. Kohlmann, Jenner & Block, were nominated to serve one-year terms as the City Bar’s three Vice Presidents.
Drexel B. Harris, Reliance Insurance, was nominated to serve as Secretary, and Thomas R. Slome, of Cullen and Dykman LLP, was nominated to continue to serve as Association Treasurer.
The nominees for the Executive Committee Class of 2024 are Sarah J. Berger, New York State Unified Court System; Jaipat S. Jain, Lazare Potter Giacovas & Moyle LLP; Hon. Tanya R. Kennedy, New York State Supreme Court, New York County; and Hon. Kiyo Matsumoto, U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of New York.
The candidates were nominated by the City Bar’s Nominating Committee: Debra L. Raskin – Chair, Vladeck Raskin & Clark PC; Farrin R. Anello, American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey; Taa Grays, MetLife Inc.; Maria D. Melendez, Sidley Austin LLP; Maria Y. Park, Kings County District Attorney’s Office; John F. Savarese, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz; Hon. Michael R. Sonberg, New York State Supreme Court.
About the Association
The New York City Bar Association, since its founding in 1870, has been dedicated to maintaining the high ethical standards of the legal profession, promoting reform of the law and access to justice, and providing service to the profession and the public. The Association, through its 24,000 members, continues to work for political, legal and social reform, while implementing innovative means to help the disadvantaged. Protecting the public’s welfare remains one of the Association’s highest priorities. www.nycbar.org
